


When The Morning Comes

by ForsakenAngel88, WinterAndLittleBrunettes



Series: Klance Family AU [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Laith, M/M, Post S8, Post-Canon, and he realizes that he loves keith too, and keith basically shuts down, and keith comes to visit him between missions, and once lance wakes up he comes to the realization that keith's in love with him, cuddle buddies, keith has a baby half brother named yorak, klance get together fic, kosmo is adored by literally everyone, lance falls ill with the same sickness as the planet theyre aiding, lance offers to join keith on a blades mission, lance works on the family farm, refuses to leave lance's side, so they go to a planet in need together, that he's loved him for a long time, they become best friends and rely heavily on one another
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-30 00:07:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19841389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForsakenAngel88/pseuds/ForsakenAngel88, https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterAndLittleBrunettes/pseuds/WinterAndLittleBrunettes
Summary: After Voltron disbands and the universe is saved, the remaining Paladins go their separate ways, only coming together to honour Allura once a year. Lance can't help but feel like he's left behind while everyone else goes off to do their own amazing things... But he's stuck. Stuck doing the same things he's been doing since he came back to Earth. The only person who puts a smile on his face is Keith when he comes to visit.Keith comes by as often as he can between missions, spending time with Lance on the family farm. He loves seeing him, getting away from the stresses of being a leading member of the newly reformed Blade of Marmora, but... He can't help but feel like he's missing something, like he leaves a part of himself on the farm every time he goes.This is the story of how Lance starts to smile again, and Keith lowers his barriers for the boy who took his heart long ago.





	When The Morning Comes

**Author's Note:**

> This is the fic [Susan](https://forsakenangel88-art.tumblr.com/) and I wrote together for our zine, [The Stars Align](https://thestarsalign-klancezine.tumblr.com/)! It is a free PDF download, but we recommend not downloading it on mobile. You can find the link to it [here](https://thestarsalign-klancezine.tumblr.com/post/186112328958/after-many-months-and-so-many-applicants-we-have), along with the link for our NSFW zine, Klance After Dark!
> 
> I was absolutely blessed to work with Susan on this fic. It was all her idea, and she invited me to help her work on it, but it was mostly her amazing work. She deserves all the love for this fic <3 I was just here for the ride, and helped out with some editing.
> 
> Oh, and to help make things gayer. I pride myself on being the girl to help make things gayer in this fic!

# When The Morning Comes

It was quiet where Lance sat on the porch of his small home, overlooking his family's farm and the main house. Shortly after returning to Earth after the war, they built a small granny flat on the other side of the property so he could have his own space. Having said space was very much appreciated. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his family-- he did, and he loved spending time with them, but… Sometimes it was nice to just go back to his own place for some peace, quiet and space.

The building was small, only containing a small kitchen, dining and living room area on the main floor, and a bed and bath in the upstairs loft. Above his bed was a large window where Lance could lay on his back and stare up at the sky. It was one of his favourite places to be when he needed some time alone, something that had been pretty frequent since the end of the war.

He had decorated the rest of the house with the things he loved and cherished, including photos of his family and friends, and little things he’d picked up on his journey in space. He also had a bookcase dedicated to souvenirs the others sent him and a small area devoted to Allura, which held the framed photo of their first date and a small vase with a Juniberry. 

It had been a few years since the battle with Honerva and the loss of Allura. Everyone had separated to do their own things, but it was their tradition to come back together every year to celebrate Allura on the day of her sacrifice, no matter how busy they were. Lance both loved and hated that time of year.

He let a long breath leave his lips, and thought back to the last anniversary, only a few months back. As a slow breeze blew past, Lance’s gaze drew to how the potted juniberry petals danced in the wind.

The last meeting was pretty subdued all said and done. Well, mostly on his part. Everyone else seemed excited to be together again, but Lance didn’t engage as much he should’ve. He used to love seeing his friends and catching up with everyone, but now… They were usually all too busy to visit more than a couple times a year. Sometimes he wouldn’t even see them until the yearly anniversary, but he couldn’t be mad at them. They were all doing the things they loved.

And he was happy for them. He really was... But, he always left their get-togethers with a feeling of hollowness in his chest. It always left him feeling _stuck,_ more than a little lonely and abandoned as he remained planted at home, like one of the juniberries on his family farm.

The anniversary itself was always very emotional for everyone as they all reminisced. The stories of Allura usually left Lance feeling conflicted as he tried to hide his pain behind his usual smile. It was hard to see everyone laughing at the time Allura had to play the role of Keith in the Voltron show, or how bad she was at flying Blue the first time… Stories of their time playing Monsters and Mana, or her quickness to get a grasp on flying a lion of Voltron. All of it made his heart ache. He cherished the time they had spent with her, but it also reminded him how it all ended. And it was _those_ memories that tugged at his heart. No matter how hard he tried to hide his sadness, there was always one person who noticed.

Keith always seemed to know when Lance needed him, reaching over to grab his hand and give it a reassuring squeeze, or leaning over until their shoulders bumped, offering him a great measure of comfort just by being Keith. He always managed to keep Lance grounded, and for that, he couldn’t be more thankful. In the time since Allura left, Keith had somehow become a Lance expert, seeming to read his mind and know exactly what he needed. And Lance couldn’t be more thankful for that, because it meant he didn’t always have to voice his feelings. He just _knew._

Plus, Keith was the only person Lance saw on a more regular basis.

Keith had made Lance's place his home away from home, and would drop by whenever he wasn't needed on Daibazaal or on a mission. Lance had no idea when that arrangement had become permanent, but he wasn't complaining. He enjoyed having Keith around. 

Lance closed his eyes and smiled, thinking back to the last time Keith had visited. It was about a month ago now, and he had been helping with some of the farm chores when the kids came running up to him, each grabbing a leg. Keith took it like a champ, hands immediately coming down to rest on each of their heads. They wanted to go pet Kosmo, but were a little frightened since the space wolf had grown so much since the last time they’d seen him. He was practically the size of a horse now.

Keith laughed as he called Kosmo over, startling the kids as he appeared out of nowhere. They yelped and hid behind Keith’s legs. But when Keith began scritching behind Kosmo’s ear, the wolf tilted his head into Keith’s hand, smiling a happy smile. Once they saw it was safe, the kids giggled and reached out to mimic him. They both scratched behind an ear, so thoroughly that Kosmo’s legs collapsed from under him and he dropped to the ground with a big grin on his face.

All Lance had been able to do was watch with a smile on his face as Keith bent, picked up Sylvio and placed him on Kosmo’s back before doing the same with Nadia. Lance was ready to step in when his niece and nephew looked unsure, but as soon as Kosmo stood up and took off in practically the same motion, the kids squealed and giggled, gripping tightly to his fur as he ran around. Keith stepped back until he stood by Lance again, and Lance couldn’t help but notice the fond smile lighting up Keith’s face.

It was one of the few memories that made Lance feel happy and completely at ease. Seeing how easily Keith fit in with his family lifted a weight from his chest he never realized was there in the first place. It was… _nice._ Keith had become his best friend the past few years and he was so grateful to have him in his life. Being around him made Lance feel more like himself. He didn't have to hide how he felt, and he knew that he could tell Keith anything. 

When Keith was around he didn’t feel so alone.

“What are you smiling about?” 

Lance’s eyes snapped open as he looked over at the man he had just been thinking about. 

Keith slumped down tiredly on the bench next to him and offered him a quick flash of a smile. 

“Keith?!” Lance shrieked in shock, ignoring the way his heart skipped a beat at seeing his friend. “What are you doing here?”

“I have a few days off. Thought I'd come crash here.” Keith yawned and stretched his arms above his head, before stopping suddenly and glancing over to Lance. “Is that alright?” He asked, lowering his arms.

Lance chuckled fondly and rolled his eyes. “You're always welcome here. You know that.”

Keith hummed as he gave Lance a once over, as if he could tell something was bothering him. “So what’s up?” He asked, gazing out across the field. “You looked deep in thought when I came in.” 

Lance didn't say anything for a while. Wasn’t sure _what_ to say. Keith could surely see the thoughts running through his mind, and stayed quiet until Lance was ready to voice them.

“I'm not sure.” Lance eventually sighed with a frown, trying to find the right way to describe how he was feeling. In all honesty, he wasn’t even positive _how_ he was feeling. “Do you ever feel… Restless?”

Keith arched an eyebrow in confusion. “What do you mean?” 

Lance pouted slightly. “I dunno, man.” He really didn’t know what he meant. He was just feeling like something was missing. Like, he needed to do _something._

Keith hummed consideringly, lost in thought. After a long moment, he asked, “When was the last time you left the farm?”

“I dunno. Why?” Lance shrugged.

“Well, maybe you need a change of scenery. Let’s go out for dinner.” Keith suggested. “We could go to that place you used to love?”

Lance bit his lip, considering the idea. Maybe going out _would_ help; it’d been a while since he had left the property for something other than the farmer’s market, and it would be nice to get out and spend some time with Keith. He never knew how long Keith could stay for, so he liked to treasure the small pockets of time they had together. “That sounds good, actually.” He eventually agreed, giving Keith a small smile.

“Great!” Keith smiled back. “Just let me shower and clean up. I came straight from a mission.” He stood up, getting up to head inside, but paused in the doorway with a questioning look on his face. “Are my clothes still in the same drawer?” 

Lance chuckled and nodded. “Yeah. Nothing’s changed,” he replied. Keith nodded and ducked into the house to shower. Once he left, Lance sighed and looked out over the field of pink flowers again, letting his gaze rove over the petals, now turned magenta in the fading light. “Nothing at all,” he whispered to himself, gripping the edge of the bench with his hands tightly as his heart thudded against his chest. 

* * *

It didn’t take long for Keith to shower and be ready to leave. “Ready to go?” He asked as he came out the door.

Lance looked up at Keith and nodded, subtly taking in his appearance. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen Keith in casual clothing before, so he didn’t understand why his heart suddenly began to beat faster when he saw him. He stood up from the bench, pushing the thoughts from his mind and smiled at Keith. “Yeah. Let’s go.” 

Keith followed Lance to his truck, frowning in thought. He had seen Lance in almost every sort of mood, and prided himself on being able to read him. He had spent enough time with him to know the cues and how to deal with whatever situation the man was in, but this was different. He had never seen Lance like this before. It was like he was a mess of several emotions, all meshing and conflicting with each other. It made it difficult to figure out what to do or say. So, Keith decided to stay quiet and wait to see if Lance would open up on his own during the drive.

Them drive was done mostly in silence on the way to the Italian restaurant that Lance had shown Keith on one of his previous visits. Lance glanced over at Keith and couldn’t help but notice that the other man had been more quiet than usual. Keith was staring out of his window, watching the scenery fly past with a distant gaze. Lance frowned at that, and his frown deepened when he noticed the dark circles under his eyes, even darker in the light. “Are you sure you’re up to going out?” He questioned, turning back to face the road in front of him again. “You look really tired.”

“Uh, yeah. I’m fine.” Keith whirled over to look at him, eyes wide in shock. He wasn’t expecting Lance to talk along the way. “I’m actually looking forward to eating some decent food.” 

Lance raised an eyebrow. “You run out of food or somethin’?”

Keith hummed. “Not quite. The planet we were helping didn’t have many resources, so we had to share quite a bit of our supplies. Food was rationed pretty thinly.”

“How long was the mission?”

“About a month.” Keith replied with a nonchalant shrug, turning to look back out his window.

Lance frowned at the thought of Keith going without decent food for so long. He knew Keith was selfless, that he’d go with the bare minimum if it meant he could help someone else. It was one of his best qualities, but it often made his teammates worry. Who was keeping an eye on Keith now that their team wasn’t together? 

His thoughts were cut short as they pulled up outside the restaurant. They shared a brief look before hopping out of the truck, slamming the doors shut with equal force. As they made their way over to the entrance, Lance took a moment to check Keith out properly. He was indeed skinnier than the last time he visited; his clothes hung slightly loose around his once bulkier frame. Lance was _definitely_ not happy about that.

He walked up to Keith and threw his arm around his thinner shoulders. “You, my friend, are not leaving here until I think you’ve eaten enough.” 

Keith raised his eyebrow and chuckled at Lance’s antics. “I’m fine, man. I still ate enough to survive.”

“‘Surviving’ is not _living,_ my friend.” Lance tsked him as they entered the establishment. “No excuses.” He led them over to a booth for two and gestured for Keith to sit before taking a seat across from him. He grabbed two of the menus from where they were propped up against the window, and placed one down in front of Keith before opening his own.

Keith offered a quiet ‘thanks’ before opening his menu. He glanced back and forth from the menu options to Lance’s face, trying to get a gauge of what he was going to order. The conflicted look that was in Lance’s eyes earlier seemed to have vanished and was replaced with firm determination. 

His attention was interrupted by a waiter coming up to their table.

“Good evening! I’ll be your server today. Are you two ready to order?” The gentleman asked.

“Yes,” Lance put his menu down and looked up at their waiter, “can we please get a serving of garlic knots to start out? I’m not sure if Keith’s ready to order.”

Keith looked back at his menu with wide eyes, scanning through all the options quickly. “I’d like, uh…” He blurted out the first thing he saw and recognized, “the lasagna.”

“You’re sure?” Lance asked. “You don’t have to rush on my account.”

“I’m sure.”

“Well, I’d like the fettuccine carbonara, please.”

The waiter wrote down their orders with a nod, and offered to get them a pitcher of water the next time he came around before leaving the table. 

Lance gathered up his and Keith’s menus and put them back where he found them before turning his attention back to Keith. “So, tell me more about these missions.” He declared. “You don’t really talk about them.”

Keith was completely caught off guard by the question. Lance had never really shown much interest in the details of his missions before, since they were all basically the same; go to a planet that needed help, and help them get back on their feet. But, he would happily talk about the missions if it distracted Lance from his thoughts for a while.

He smiled. “What would you like to know?”

* * *

The rest of the evening was spent with Keith telling Lance some of the crazy stuff that had happened on his missions and eating their fill of pasta and bread. It was nearing midnight when they got back to the farm, stumbling tiredly into the house.

Keith made a beeline for the bedroom, instantly falling back onto Lance’s bed with a big yawn. 

“Take your shoes off before you go to sleep, you heathen.” Lance chuckled, removing his own shoes.

Keith groaned, sitting up groggily. “Yeah, yeah.”

Lance walked over to his dresser and pulled out an old sleeping shirt for Keith. “Here.” He threw it at Keith’s head, before pulling out one for himself.

Keith grabbed the shirt off his head and grumbled something incoherent as Lance walked into the bathroom to shower.

When Lance emerged a while later, freshly showered in his sleep clothes, he noticed that Keith had already changed and was sound asleep on top of the covers. He shook his head fondly and smiled, and made his way over to his side. As carefully as he could, he lifted Keith up. He _was_ lighter now than he was before, which worried him, but at least he ate well tonight. He pushed the covers back, settling Keith properly in bed before covering him up.

As soon as the blankets were pulled up to Keith’s chin, Keith burrowed deeper under the blankets, blinding reaching out toward Lance’s side of the bed.

Lance walked over to the other side of the bed and carefully hopped in. He turned off the lights and got comfortable, laying on his side to stare at Keith.

The moonlight from the window above them cast a serene glow across Keith’s pale skin and dark hair. The light highlighted his best features, making him look younger and more carefree. A little vulnerable, _softer_ even. Not that Keith wasn’t soft. He was… Well, he was _Keith,_ and he was wonderful. Beautiful.

Lance sucked in a deep breath at the sight as his heart began to thud against his chest. _Beautiful._ As the thought popped into Lance’s head, he froze.

He had seen Keith sleep beside him a million times. They always slept together when Keith stayed over. It was their thing. Keith helped Lance when he had trouble sleeping, and Lance would help Keith when he had nightmares. But he’d never seen Keith in this way before.

It was almost as if something had changed, but nothing had. They were still them, two boys scarred from a war they never asked to fight. They were friends, _best_ friends, so… What changed?

When did he start seeing him as someone he desired?

Lance squeezed his eyes shut and rolled over. He didn’t want to think about Keith like that. Allura was the only person he ever wanted to think about like that. He didn’t… _couldn’t_ replace her with someone else, with Keith. It was too soon. He felt like he was betraying her and her memory by even _thinking_ about it. He tried to breathe in another deep breath to calm his anxious thoughts, then shut his eyes tight and willed for sleep.

* * *

Several hours later, Lance laid awake, staring up at the stars above him. Keith was lightly snoring beside him, but hadn’t moved at all since falling asleep. His arm was still outstretched for Lance, but he kept himself firmly on his half of the bed, just out of reach.

Lance sighed, and turned his head to the side to look at Keith. No matter what he did, his thoughts kept returning to his best friend. 

He thought over what Keith had told him earlier that night at dinner. What he went through on his missions. Even though he had a team with him, it seemed like Keith was still his loner self, doing his own thing. Keith had made it seem like it was part of being the leader of the group and he didn’t mind it, but Lance couldn’t help but think about how lonely it must be. He used to have the Voltron team look out for him, but now he had no one. 

He couldn’t help but wonder why Keith didn’t visit his mother or even Shiro more often. It seemed like after his missions he came straight to Lance’s farm house rather than visiting his actual family. It confused Lance, especially after Keith lost them both at some point in his life. So why did he come here instead?

Was it because the others were too busy? Surely they made time for Keith though, so that couldn’t be it. It couldn’t be because Lance gave him a place to stay either, since the others would happily do the same. His mind began to race though all the possibilities as he rolled over to face Keith more fully to contemplate the question. He noticed a couple of stray hairs had fallen into Keith’s face and moved to tuck them behind his ear subconsciously, causing Keith to stir. Lance quickly retracted his hand, gripping the pillow under his head tightly.

Keith’s eyes fluttered as he opened them slowly, blinking a few times to adjust to the low light. “Lance?”

Lance smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Keith yawned, rubbing his eyes, trying to wake up. “Have you slept?” 

“No.” 

Keith frowned. “What’s wrong?”

Lance averted his eyes as Keith looked at him. He felt stupid for wondering about something that wasn’t important at the moment, but he knew if he didn’t ask, he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep. “Why do you stay here? I mean, Instead of with your mum or Shiro?”

Keith’s frown deepened as he leaned up on his elbow. “I like it here.” He said simply. “And I get to spend time with you.”

Lance looked up at the other man in his bed with pinched brows. “But, why me? Why not one of the others?” He frowned and leaned up to be eye level with Keith. “Is it just to babysit me? Did the others ask you to keep an eye on me?” He felt his heart began to race as the negative thoughts swirled around his head.

Keith looked shocked at the outburst and opened his mouth to respond but Lance threw the covers back, lurched out of bed and began pacing.

“You were pretty close to Hunk before everyone went their separate ways. Was it Hunk? It must have been him.” Lance continued, feeling himself start to tremble as he rambled, pacing at the foot of the bed. “He’s too busy to come visit so he asked _you_ to watch over me. He doesn’t think I can handle dealing with Allura’s death on my own.” He reached up to grip at his hair to ground him a little as the possibilities started running faster and faster through his head. “I don’t need you guys worrying about me, I-I’m fine. I c-can do everything he-here on my own--”

“Lance,” Keith was suddenly right in front of him, but he had no idea when that happened. Time skipped, or something. “Lance, look at me. You need to calm down.” Keith grabbed both of Lance’s shoulders firmly, ducking down a little until all Lance could see was the stunning colour of Keith’s eyes. “Just focus on me.”

Lance shook his head, his eyes glued to Keith’s. “I-I can’t, I--”

“It’s okay,” Keith interrupted, nodding soothingly. “Just follow me, okay? Breathe with me. In,” he exaggerated a deep breath in, waiting for Lance to follow, before saying, “and out,” and loudly letting the breath leave his lips.

Lance squeezed his eyes tightly closed as he tried to follow Keith’s instructions and calm his racing heart. He hadn’t even noticed how fast it was beating, thumping like a jackhammer in his chest until Keith brought him back to the moment. 

“Deep breaths, Lance.” Keith instructed soothingly as he gently pried Lance’s hands from his head. “ _That’s_ it, just breathe.”

Lance closed his eyes, squeezing Keith’s hands tightly as he focused on his breathing. With every slow breath in and out, he could feel the negative thoughts melting away, leaving him with just Keith.

Eventually, his breathing returned to normal as his anxiety attack passed. 

Keith walked Lance over to the side of the bed to sit down. “Are you alright? Did you need some water?” He asked gently, still holding onto Lance’s hands.

Lance shook his head slightly. “No,” he mumbled. He looked down at his lap embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I haven’t...” The unsaid words hung in the air between them, but Keith knew exactly what he was talking about. _Had an attack in a long time._

“Hey, it’s okay.” Keith moved his arm around Lance’s shoulders and rubbed his back gently. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes as Lance sat there and tried not to think too much. It was hard, he’d never been the person who could wipe his mind blank and not think of anything. There was always _something,_ even if it was the thought that he had to clear his mind. He’d never known true blankness. But he tried.

“No one asked me to come here.” Keith eventually whispered. It took Lance a moment to realize what he was talking about, but he was answering one of his questions from before. “I don’t really know why I always come back here. It just… Feels like home.”

Hearing the simplicity of Keith’s answer, Lance’s heart skipped a beat. Out of all the scenarios that ran through his head, that one had eluded him. Honestly, he didn’t know how to respond to it, so he moved onto the next reasonable response, “I’m sorry for waking you up. I know you’re tired.”

Keith smiled warmly at him. “It’s alright. Did you want to try and get some sleep?”

Lance nodded and crawled back into bed as Keith climbed into his own side, under the blankets this time.

“Do you want to cuddle?” Keith asked cautiously, knowing it helped Lance with his insomnia. But he wasn’t above admitting it was just as much for his benefit as it was for Lance’s.

Lance didn’t say anything, but moved over towards Keith, curling up under his chin.

Keith wrapped his arms around him, feeling the other man’s breathing even out against his chest. “Goodnight,” he whispered fondly.

* * *

Lance woke up alone the next morning to the smell of pancakes. He groggily rolled out of bed and yawned, stretching his arms above his head to pop the kinks from his back. He blearily wandered down the stairs towards the kitchen, where he spotted Keith by the stove. 

“Mornin’.” Lance called out, startling Keith from his work.

Keith turned to face him and smiled. “Hey, how’d you sleep?”

“Alright, once I fell asleep.” Lance plopped down onto one of the chairs at the small dining table to watch Keith as he puttered around the kitchen like he lived here. He supposed he _practically_ did, and the thought made his heart flutter. It was too early for that. “What time is it?”

Keith poured a cup of freshly made coffee and handed it to Lance. “Just after 10. I figured you could use a sleep in.”

Lance groaned dramatically and let his head fall to the table with a loud thud. “Mamma’s gonna be _pissed_ that I missed my morning chores.”

Keith chuckled fondly and went back to the stove to flip the pancakes. “Don’t worry. I took care of them for you.”

“What?!” Lance’s head whipped up so quickly he nearly gave himself whiplash. He stared over at Keith in disbelief. “You didn’t have to do that! You should be resting. You just came back from a huge mission. I should have put an alarm on. I’m so sorry,” he rambled. He felt horrible that he had caused Keith so much trouble in less than a day. 

Keith turned around with two plates towering with pancakes in his hands. “Lance, it’s fine.” He assured. “I don’t mind. I enjoy working on the farm. You know that.” He sat down, placing a plate in front of him. “Now, eat.”

Lance looked down at his plate and back up to Keith, a warm feeling swelling in his chest. Keith was always there for him. He honestly didn’t know how he would have coped without him the last few years. He smiled at the man in front of him sincerely. “Thanks, man.” 

His thoughts jumped back to the conversation they had the night before, how Keith had to deal with so much alone on his missions. Keith deserved to have someone there to take care of him, just like he was always here for Lance. A sense of calmness washed over him as he came to his next decision.

“You’ve done so much for me,” Lance started, pulling Keith’s attention from his food, “and I don’t think I’ve ever really said how much I appreciate it. I want to do more for you. So…” There was a curious look in Keith’s eyes as he waited for Lance to continue. Lance took a deep breath before saying, “I want to come with you on your next mission.”

“Are you sure?” Keith’s eyes widened. He definitely was not expecting that. “I thought you didn’t want to leave Earth again?”

Lance smiled, and nodded resolutely. “I’m sure. I think the change of scenery might help.”

Keith took a moment to analyze Lance, to make sure he wasn’t making a rash decision. But he couldn’t see any doubt in his eyes, just that same determination from last night. “Alright,” he said a little hesitantly, “but if you decide you want to come home, at _any_ point, just let me know, and I’ll get Kosmo to drop you off.”

Lance’s smile widened. “Deal.” He picked up his fork and began to dig into his breakfast. For the first time in a long while, he felt like his old self. 

* * *

Keith got a call later that day from Krolia asking him to come back for another mission. So, once Lance told his family that he was going with Keith on this next mission, they packed what few things they needed and made their way out to Keith’s pod.

Once Lance put his stuff down, Keith ducked around him to head to a small closet at the back of the aircraft. He dug around his own things for a moment, before finding what he was looking for. He hummed a triumphant noise under his breath and turned to face Lance, holding up his old Blade of Marmora outfit.

As soon as Lance realized what he was holding, his eyes lit up excitedly. “Oh my god, I actually get to wear one of these?!” He squealed, snatching the outfit from Keith’s hands.

Keith chuckled and nodded. “Well, you need to look the part. I’m sorry if it’s a little big on you, though. It’s my old one.”

Lance couldn’t care less if it was going to be big on him. He had always wanted to try on one of the outfits. “Can I put it on now?” 

“Sure. You can change back here.” Keith offered. He quickly turned and grabbed his current gear, tossing it over his arm. “I’ll change at the front, and then we’ll be off.”

“Okay!” Lance pressed the clothing to his chest and danced in place, before dropping it to take his shirt off.

Keith laughed at Lance’s enthusiasm, and quickly turned away so he wouldn’t get distracted by Lance’s chest. He quickly changed into his uniform, adjusting the fabric over his chest until it sat properly, and hunkered down in the cockpit for the journey.

A few minutes later Lance appeared back in the main hull of the ship. “How does it look?” Lance asked, twisting and turning around to show it off.

“I, uh…” Keith couldn’t make his mouth form words with suddenly dry lips. He’d never admitted it to himself, but he’d _also_ always wanted to see Lance in one of these uniforms. He always liked how he looked in their traditional Paladin uniforms, but this? His heart felt like it was trying to beat out of his chest at the sight of his friend in that uniform.

Lance filled out his old suit perfectly. It left nothing to the imagination, showing off all of Lance’s assets; long legs, strong arms, lithe and powerful torso… And it didn’t help that he looked _great_ in purple. The stealth-ninja look really did wonders for Lance, and Keith was certainly trying not to swoon in his seat. His heart was beating so loud he could hear it thumping in his ears. Butterflies were trying to push past his heart on their way out of his mouth, and his fingers were tingly. For perhaps the first time, Lance’s altean marks were glowing softly, making him literally glow with happiness.

He was so stunning he was almost hard to look at.

Keith cleared his throat, blinking frantically like it would help his condition. “It suits you,” he ground out. It did much more than ‘suit’ him, but he wasn’t confident he could say much more without saying _too_ much.

Lance grinned. Something he hadn’t done in… Actually, he couldn’t remember the last time he had smiled this hard. It felt good. Really good. He walked over to the co-pilot seat and sat down. “So, where’re we off to?”

Keith blinked out of his stupor and tried to focus on his dashboard in front of him. Even though he was fluent in reading the Galran language now, he had to squint to actually see through his muddled head. He cleared his throat, and finally turned the engines on. “We need to stop in on Daibazaal and check in with my mum. Then, we’ll see Kolivan and he’ll give us the details for the mission when we get there.” He explained, and took up the controls. “You ready?”

“I was _born_ ready!”

Keith chuckled at Lance’s enthusiasm, and finally lifted the ship off the ground.

* * *

With the new wormhole technology Sam invented, it took them no time at all to return to Daibazaal. Keith landed his pod at the loading docks and took Lance through the new facility. Lance was astounded by the new buildings. The Galra had really advanced since the war, now working with other planets for resources and technology.

When they came up to the main command centre, Kosmo appeared out of nowhere and jumped Keith, throwing him to the ground as he licked his face. 

“I missed you too, bud.” Keith laughed, patting the wolf’s ears before lovingly trying to shove the space wolf off of him. “Come on. Let me up.”

Kosmo got off Keith and wandered over to Lance, rubbing his head over his legs. Lance smiled brightly, reaching up to pet him. “Hey there, handsome. Long time no see.”

The sound of a baby’s cry rang through the hall and startled Lance so hard he jerked, making Kosmo whine. He whirled around to face Keith, looking confused.

Keith simply smiled. “Come on. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

Lance got up and followed Keith into the room where he saw Krolia swaying a baby gently. The child in her arms looked no older than a few months, and Lance couldn’t help but gape at the sight of Krolia with a baby.

“Hey, mum,” Keith called out, walking over to the pair. “Lance is here. He wanted to come with me on the next mission.”

Krolia looked over at Lance, still gaping at the scene in front of him. “It’s good to see you, Lance.” She said fondly. “I hope Keith hasn’t been causing you any trouble.”

Lance shook his head to snap himself out of his stupor and walked over to join them. “Keith’s never any trouble. I enjoy having him stay.” 

Krolia glanced over to her oldest son, giving him a knowing look, which he frowned at. Lance wasn’t sure what was happening between the two of them, so ignored it and focused on the baby in Krolia’s arms. “Who’s this?”

Krolia looked down at her arms and smiled gently. “This is Yorak. He’s Keith’s baby brother.”

Lance looked up in shock and cuffed the back of Keith’s head. “You didn’t tell me you had a baby brother!” 

“I’m sorry.” Keith winced and rubbed where Lance had hit him. “I was gonna bring him down to visit when he was old enough.”

“And when was _that_ gonna be?” He snapped without any real heat. “I can’t trust your judgement on these kinds of things anymore, not after you wanted to wait for Kosmo to tell you his name.”

Keith muttered something unintelligible under his breath, but Lance was too busy cooing at the baby to listen. “He’s so cute! Can I hold him?” Lance asked, looking up at Krolia.

Krolia nodded and gently passed her youngest over to Lance’s arms. He immediately started swaying and rocking the baby gently, a large smile plastered on his face. 

Seeing Lance tuck Yorak’s head into the crook of his elbow, cooing to him like he was the most precious thing in the world made everything else fade away. Keith couldn’t tear his eyes from them even if he wanted to, not even if they were being gunned down right this second. Watching Lance cuddle his baby brother to his chest and gently boop his nose… Keith was at a loss for words. He couldn’t help but imagine that this is how Lance would act with a child of his own, and that made Keith’s poor heart stutter in his chest. That wasn’t a sight he’d soon forget, forevermore imprinted behind his eyelids every time he blinked. He’d never be rid of it. Not that he ever wanted to. If anything, now he wanted to make that a reality, with _their_ kid.

Krolia smirked at her older son, before turning back to Lance. “Looks like you’re a natural.” Her words pulled Keith out of his trance, and he spared a quick glare in her direction.

Lance looked up with a fond smile. “I used to look after my niece and nephew when they were little.” He explained, and offered his finger to little Yorak to grab. “I forgot how small they were.”

“We should get going,” Keith said lowly. He wasn’t sure if his heart could handle much more of Lance holding his baby brother without wanting to smother him in kisses. “We’ll get out of your hair, mum.”

Lance groaned good-naturedly, before pressing a light kiss to Yorak’s forehead. “Uncle Lance will be back soon to spend more time with you,” he promised, before passing him off back to his mum.

“Good,” Krolia gathered her baby up in her arms, adjusting until they were both comfortable. “We’ve missed seeing you around.”

“Yeah, alright, we should get going,” Keith said quickly before she could say anything more. He pressed a quick kiss to her cheek before grabbing Lance’s arm and dragging him away. “Bye mum!”

Lance squawked, but waved back over his shoulder at her as they made a hasty escape. “Where are we going?”

“To find Kolivan. He’ll have the mission info for us.”

Satisfied with that, Lance gently untangled his arm from Keith’s grasp, now that they were out of range from Krolia. Keith was disappointed, but quickly masked it up before Lance could notice.

* * *

Kolivan gave them a quick overview of the mission before sending them on their way to planet Giwos, a few star systems over. Apparently, their tech was still pretty basic, and a planet-wide sickness was affecting both the inhabitants and plant life. So, their mission was to provide medicine, updates to technology, and other aid until the planet got back on its feet.

Keith sorta just shrugged and started on his way. It was a pretty normal mission, something they did all the time. He just hoped they wouldn’t have to ration his food as much this trip, so Lance wouldn’t have to have any less than he deserved.

But Lance looked ecstatic to be going on this mission. The way his eyes lit up when Kolivan briefed them on the task at hand made Keith’s heart swell, and realize all over again why he fell in love with the man. Seeing him so passionate about helping others, practically glowing… That was something he hadn’t seen since their Voltron days. It made him happy that Lance asked to come on this mission. This would likely be good for the both of them.

As soon as they touched down on planet Giwos, Ezor came over to greet them. “Hey bossman.”

“Ezor,” Keith said in greeting, and offered Lance a hand to help him out.

Ezor looked extremely surprised to see someone with him, but quickly masked her surprise with a big grin. “Oh look, the Red Paladin is with you,” she said slyly, “I wondered when he’d show up.”

“Lay off him, Ezor,” Keith said firmly. He didn’t want anyone saying anything that could tip Lance off and make him want to go home. He needed him here more than any of them knew.

Lance elbowed Keith sharply, smiling over at Ezor. “Nice to see you again.”

“You too,” she reached for his hand, pulling him after her towards where they were set up. “I’ll re-introduce you to everyone on the team, but you already know most of them. A few new Galra, maybe, but they’re not too important.”

“Sounds good!” Lance agreed enthusiastically, and let himself be dragged. He glanced over his shoulder at Keith, looking to see his reaction.

Keith gave him a quick smile, but even as he offered it, it felt strained. He cursed lowly under his breath, and turned away to grab their stuff from the ship.

He could already feel the stress of everything weighing on his shoulders. Keeping his team afloat and safe, while maintaining order on a planet as low-tech as this was taxing. He really hoped he could keep it all together for Lance’s sake. He didn’t need to see how stressed missions like this made him.

When he led Voltron, things were different. The whole team was capable in the worst of situations, tried and true, and when things got tough, he _always_ had Lance to rely on. Lance was his support, his strength, and his tether to keeping calm, collected, and sane. He’d never told Lance that before, but he certainly couldn’t tell him _now._ Not without making him feel bad that he hadn’t been on any missions since Allura’s death. And he never wanted to make Lance feel bad. But… He really missed having him around.

Of course, when the time _finally_ came that he was around for missions, the first thing he did was snap at Ezor. Like an idiot. He groaned and dropped his head forwards until it met the side of the ship with a dull thud. At least Ezor was used to this kind of thing. But Lance hadn’t seen anything other than his good side in years.

He had to do better. He knew that.

With that thought in mind, he grabbed their bags and finally started off towards the direction Ezor dragged Lance.

* * *

Lance tried to keep the frown off his face while Ezor rambled on about how she and the other former Galran generals were since they last saw each other. He couldn’t stop thinking about the immediate change in Keith’s demeanour when they touched down on the planet’s surface, and what it could mean.

He knew that these missions were stressful, some more than others. He always saw the impact on Keith when he came home, in the lines beneath his eyes and the weight on his shoulders. He just hadn’t seen it firsthand for himself. He hadn’t seen Keith like that since he started leading Voltron all those years ago.

But, Lance had always been there for Keith during their Voltron days, acting as his right hand to smooth things over, and lead when he couldn’t. That was their dynamic, and it worked for them.

He hasn’t been there for Keith lately. Not in the way he needed him, as friend and right hand man.

“It’s really nice to have you here,” Ezor said suddenly, in a different tone of voice. Normally she sounded upbeat and bubbly, but now she spoke in a lower, more serious tone of voice. “Keith needs you around, I think. He’s different when he talks about you… Lighter.”

“Really?”

“Really,” she confirmed. She slowed to a stop, and Lance stopped beside her, looking at her curiously. “He’s…” She floundered a little, trying to find the best way to describe what she wanted to say. “Well, he spreads himself pretty thin. He tries to do everything himself, _be_ everywhere at once, but he’s just one little half-human. He can only do so much. And sometimes, he can get snappy.”

Lance snorted softly. Hearing that sounded _just_ like Keith. He knew better than most how Keith could get when he worked too hard, and didn’t take care of himself. Keith could be difficult, but when shown gentle reason, a little bribing and a lot of luck, Lance could usually get him to bed.

“I’m not trying to belittle or complain about him,” Ezor was quick to add, “because he’s a great leader, and Zethrid, Axca and I really rely on him. We trust and respect him. He’s just--”

“A little hot-headed sometimes,” Lance interjected. He chuckled, “Yeah, well… He was the original Red Paladin, so that makes sense.”

Ezor nodded, “And you were the Blue Paladin. So, it makes sense that you soothe him.”

Lance froze at that. Her words rang true, but… He wasn’t sure what to make of the facts being spelled out for him like that.

With a shake of her head, her infectious smile returned, and she linked their arms together again. “C’mon, Axca and Zethrid are waiting! Then we’ll introduce you to some of the natives here.”

Lance followed a little dazedly, still thinking about their conversation. He’d have to keep a closer eye on Keith this mission, and do everything in his power to make sure things go smoothly.

* * *

The natives of this planet, the Giwosians, were small creatures, close in stature to the Arusians. They looked similar to ferrets from Earth, but larger, and walked upright on two legs. Their bodies were furry, coloured in variations of red and orange, but most striking were their vibrant purple eyes. Every time Lance saw them, he was immediately reminded of Keith.

Their speech was a little gruff, but Lance was thankful for the built-in speech adaptor in Keith’s old BoM outfit so he didn’t have to keep looking to Ezor and Axca for translations.

A little while after Lance, Axca and Ezor met with some of the locals, Zethrid and Keith joined them, immediately blending into the conversation with no introductions. Zethrid made a beeline for Ezor’s side, while Keith went to Lance’s.

“So, to clarify, you have no wish for any sort of advanced weaponry on your planet?” Axca asked the leader.

“Yes,” they confirmed. Lance honestly wasn’t sure if the leader of the Giwosian race was male or female, if they had gender. “We have no use for them here with our customs. And now that the war is over, we wish to live peacefully without such things.”

“Okay, we can respect that,” Lance interjected before Axca could get another word in. “No advanced specialized weapons. But, at the very least, we do need to upgrade your communications technology.”

The leader looked uncomfortable, and opened their mouth to speak, but Lance continued before they could object; “That’s part of the reason this sickness ravaged for so long. If you can get into contact with the Blade of Marmora and request aid, then you have a much better chance at saving your kinsfolk and planet from this much destruction.”

“Lance is right,” Keith finally spoke up, taking a step closer and taking to a knee so he was closer to their height, “you need this, and the Blade of Marmora is offering it to you. We can respect the no weapons, that is your choice. But, for your own safety, we must urge you to take the communications upgrades.”

“We almost missed your initial transmission.” Ezor said wryly, and put her hands on her hips. “It was pure luck that we stumbled upon your request for aid.”

The leader breathed out a long sigh, before acquiescing to the suggestion. “Okay. We will humbly accept your upgrades.”

Keith smiled and shook the leader’s hand, before standing up and turning back to Lance. “We should get some rest. It’s getting late, and we spent most of the day travelling.”

“Yeah, you guys go rest up.” Zethrid agreed, wrapping an arm around Ezor’s shoulders. “We’ll wrap up here for the night, and meet you guys back at camp.”

“Okay,” Lance quickly agreed. He was getting tired. He hadn’t had a full day of travel and diplomacy in… Well, far too long. It felt like it was a lifetime ago.

It practically was.

Keith gestured for Lance to walk ahead, but Lance slowed so they walked side by side to their camp. It was quiet, no words spoken between them, but they didn’t need to. It didn’t feel awkward or forced, just comfortable.

The backs of their hands occasionally brushed while they walked, and Lance’s cheeks flushed at that. But, he made no motion to move away, especially when he saw Keith’s cheeks reacting the same way.

Once they made it back to camp, Lance went straight to the tent, pushed the flap aside and stepped in. He made straight for the closest cot, not slowing down in the slightest as he threw himself at the soft surface. He heard Keith follow him inside, letting the tent flap fall closed behind him, casting them in darkness.

“You should at least get comfortable, and maybe eat something.” Keith said quietly, sitting down on his own cot about a foot away. “You haven’t eaten anything since we left Earth.”

“That requires moving,” Lance groaned.

Keith chuckled fondly, and stood up, before hefting Lance up and out of the cot with minimal effort. Lance squealed when he was suddenly airborne and placed gently on his feet. “C’mon,” Keith bumped his shoulder with a smile, “get changed, we can try some of the native food here, see if there’s any Hunk would use.”

“Fine,” Lance grumbled playfully, and waited until Keith was out of the tent to change into more comfortable clothes. Not that he didn’t like the BoM outfit, he did, and he loved how it made him look and feel, but there was just something comforting about wearing your own clothes.

A few minutes later he stepped out, and was met with the sight of Keith bent over a small fire, coaxing the flames to grow with gentle puffs of air. Lance staggered to a stop and couldn’t help but look at the sight.

Where he was knelt, fading light came in through the trees, highlighting his face beneath his hair. His high cheekbones were on full display, showing off his full eyelashes encasing vibrant eyes. As he stoked the fire, the dancing flames made him practically glow. Lance’s knees nearly turned to jelly when he saw how Keith’s biceps rippled under the sleeves of his armor. Once upon a time, he would have been jealous of how ripped he was, but he could admit now that he had a better appreciation for it.

And the way he was crouched left nothing to the imagination with his ass. Lance _definitely_ had a healthy appreciation for a good ass.

Heat flushed high on his cheeks as he thought of his best friend that way. Thoughts like these were becoming more and more frequent the longer they spent time together, sudden and unbidden. He still wasn’t sure what to think of these thoughts, but he was starting to realize that they came often enough to be real, genuine emotions.

And with that came the realization that he wasn’t betraying Allura’s memory by projecting new feelings onto Keith. That these feelings were always there, even before Allura. He’d always pressed them down, suppressed them, until he lost the meaning of the feelings. Feelings of genuine attraction.

His heart started to flutter in his chest, speeding up to match his rapid thoughts. Keith was his _best_ friend. He couldn’t risk ruining their relationship by catching feelings for the man. If he lost Keith, he wasn’t sure he’d survive that. So until the day came, if it ever did, that Keith returned any semblance of his feelings, he’d keep them quietly tucked to his chest and in his heart to protect himself and their relationship.

He could live with that, if it meant keeping Keith close to him.

As soon as Keith noticed him staring, however, he sprung back into action, lest he get caught staring at his best friend. “So,” he exclaimed, a little louder than he intended, “what’s on the menu for tonight?”

Keith hummed, and turned to grab a few of the items behind him. “Well, there’s this weird thing,” he grabbed a fruit-looking item, sort of resembling a strawberry the size of a mango. “Apparently we’re supposed to cook it, and eat the innards?”

“Guess that’s what we’ll do, then.” Lance plopped down on the ground beside Keith, taking the food item into his hand, testing the weight. Something from the inside splashed around a little when he moved it, and that frightened him a little, but, true to his curiosity and rumbling stomach, he was willing to give it a try.

Keith took it back and put it as close to the fireside as he could without actually letting it get engulfed in flames to roast it. “Okay, we’ll let that sit there for awhile. I’m gonna go get changed, alright?”

“Alright,” Lance said, and leaned back on his elbows, getting comfortable. Keith quickly disappeared inside the tent, and Lance took a few quiet moments to look up to the sky.

It was beautiful, what he could see of it from between the thick canopy of trees. Vibrant, maybe just as vibrant as Earth’s, and he could already see some unfamiliar stars in the early evening. It was quiet around him, save the fire crackling before him and his own breathing. It was peaceful. He could get used to this.

Keith reemerged from the tent, dressed comfortably in a comfy threadbare t-shirt and plaid pajama pants that Lance recognized as his own. He plopped down beside him, close enough that he could feel his heat, and let out a content sigh.

“I like it out here.” Keith said conversationally. “It’s quiet.”

“You’ve said that you love the outdoors,” Lance looked over to Keith with a smile. “It suits you.”

Keith smiled fondly, and leaned back on his hands, face tilted up to look at the sky. “It looks like Earth’s sky.” He said quietly. “The last planet we were on, the sky was pink. Like, _bright_ pink. Romelle would love it.”

“So would Allura.” Lance said with a sad smile.

Keith looked over to him with a sad expression on his face. He looked like he wanted to say something, apologize maybe, but he looked conflicted.

“It’s okay,” Lance spoke up before Keith could come to a decision. “We can talk about her. She was important to you, too.”

“True,” Keith agreed softly. “But, not as important as she was to you.”

“Don’t belittle your emotions, man.” Lance said seriously. He turned to fully look at him, a little surprised to see Keith already staring back. “You loved her, too.”

Keith’s shoulders deflated a bit at that, and he nodded. “That’s true. I did.”

With that out in the open, Lance nodded to himself and looked up at the sky again. “Have you seen a prettier sky?” He asked.

Keith hummed, and laid back on the ground, looking up at the sky to analyze it before answering Lance’s question. “Hmm… This one is pretty great, but I know a better one.”

“Oh?”

The first thought that came to Keith’s mind was the galaxy in Lance’s eyes, but he knew he couldn’t say that. But, his next answer was also pretty good; “Earth.”

“Pfft, how did I know you’d say that,” Lance chuckled.

“No, I’m serious!” Keith swore, grinning widely. He rolled over onto his side so he could look at Lance head on as he said, “watching the sunset from your porch is pretty amazing.”

Lance rolled his eyes fondly with a chuckle, softly disputing the fact. “You’ve seen hundreds, probably _thousands_ of skies by now, and you still think the one from my back porch is the best of all of them?”

“Of course I do.” Keith replied sincerely. “You’re there.”

As soon as the words flew out of his mouth, his stomach dropped away, leaving him feeling like he was falling, more so than he already had for the man in front of him. He couldn’t believe he just _said_ that, but he couldn’t take it back now. All he could do was watch as Lance’s cheeks tinged with a pretty pink, and he coughed and looked away, unsure what to say.

He was fine with that. The beautiful flush on his cheeks was enough, for now.

“A-Anyways, we should eat!” Lance said loudly, laughing a little nervously. “It’s done. I think it’s done, don’t you?”

“Sure,” Keith agreed, and sat up again. He reached into his pocket and grabbed his Marmora knife, using it to stab the warm fruit.

Lance cringed, looking skeptically down at the metal now digging into the fruit. “You _did_ clean that, right?”

“It’s only got a little blood on it,” Keith said with a smirk. When Lance squawked, Keith laughed. “Kidding, kidding,” he promised, and brought it into his lap to cut it up.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the rest of his team emerging through the trees, making their way towards camp. He pulled the knife out and tentatively grabbed it in his other hand, feeling the temperature of it. It wasn’t too hot anymore, so he gripped it firmly in his left hand, and started slicing into it.

“Woah, wait--!” A voice called out, but it was too late.

As soon as the scent hit Keith’s nose, he recoiled sharply, and threw the fruit aside, knife still imbedded in it. He jerked away from it, stood up quick as a flash and backed away from the stench. Lance was quick to catch it, thanks to his reflexes, and he looked up at Keith quizzically.

“Sorry, bossman,” Ezor apologized, jogging up to his side. “We should’ve warned you about that devil’s fruit.”

“What the _fuck_ is that?!” Keith grouched, plugging his nose up tight with his thumb and forefinger. “That’s disgusting!” He sneezed suddenly, and Lance offered him a quiet “bless you”.

Axca shrugged, glaring down at the fruit in Lance’s hands with scorn. “Apparently the Giwosians love the fruit. But--”

“But it’s horrendous to those with Galra lineage,” Zethrid cut in with a shudder. “I have no idea how anyone can eat that stuff.”

Curious, Lance brought the fruit to his nose and gave it a sniff. It smelled kinda bland, at least to his nose. Almost like a pear, if he were being honest. But it was a _stickier_ smell, if that was possible. He’d never seen or smelled anything like it before. “It’s not that bad,” he spoke up, looking up to the Galra present.

They all leveled him with various looks of surprise and awe.  


“Really,” Lance urged. “I think it’s gonna be good, once you get past having to scoop the innards out of an alien strawberry that’s as big as a mango with the smell equivalent to a pear.”

To prove it, he cracked open the fruit further, and grabbed a piece of the now solid flesh. It was pink, similar to the colour of a rose, and peeled away from the skin similarly to cotton candy. It was weird, to say the least, but, Hunk would be eternally disappointed in him if he didn’t try it.

“Bottoms up,” he said, trying to hide his grimace with a smirk, and popped the food in his mouth before he could talk himself out of it.

As the flavour touched his tongue, he hummed happily at the pleasant taste. It was a bit of a weird texture, definitely unlike anything on Earth, but the taste was desirable. He quickly tore off another piece and ate it, to the shock and surprise of the half-Galra present.

“Is it actually good?” Zethrid asked timidly.

“Must be,” Keith spoke up, still keeping a wary distance. He sneezed suddenly, before continuing, “He’s eating it pretty fast.”

Ezor hummed non-committedly, “That _could_ just mean he’s hungry.”

“That’s probably it.” Axca piped up. “That fruit is the devil’s food, after all.”

Lance offered the fruit up to the group, covering a chuckle with his hand when they backed away like he was holding a bomb. “It’s good you guys, seriously. You should try it!”

“Nope,” Axca said quickly.

“I’d rather die,” Ezor said cheerfully.

Zethrid simply glowered at him.

“I don’t know how you can stand to even _smell_ it, let alone eat it.” Keith grouched. He went to sit down in his spot beside Lance again, but his nose visibly twitched and he scowled. So he moved to the other side of the fire, directly across from Lance and the stench of the fruit.

The others of their team were swift to follow him to the opposite side of the fire, noses protected by the barrier of flames between them.

Lance gave them the finger, not stopping his eating for even a moment. It earned him a few chuckles, but they stayed right where they were.

* * *

Those of Galran blood present ate things they brought with them, absolutely refusing to eat anything hailing from the planet. Lance was more than happy eating the fruit. Somehow, the fruit filled him pleasantly, even though it was only about the size of a grapefruit. His throat did tingle a little after he finished eating it, but he chalked it up to eating a weird new fruit on a new planet.

Shortly after, the former paladins retired, leaving the others to tend to the fire until they turned in for the night. Lance was the first back in the tent, crashing face first into his cot, just as he did earlier. Keith couldn’t help but chuckle fondly.

“What?” Lance grouched, words mumbled into the mattress below him.

“Nothing,” Keith murmured, stepping fully into the tent and letting the flap swing shut behind him. It cast them in darkness, which Lance appreciated. He wiggled around until he got comfortable, and set about trying to fall asleep. But Keith kept shuffling and moving around, making noise and generally being disturbing.  


“ _What_ are you doing?” Lance questioned, and sat up, whirling around to look at Keith. But, his eyes widened when their lips accidentally brushed. A pleasant electric shock shot down Lance’s spine at the contact. He expected Keith to be further away than he actually was.

He couldn’t help but notice that he didn’t mind the brush of Keith’s lips against his own.

Keith froze, eyes wide, not daring to even breathe. “I, uh,” he stuttered, still unmoving, “was pushing our cots together.”

Lance didn’t back away either. “Why?” Their lips brushed together softly as he whispered the simple question. More pleasant electric tingles. _Interesting._

Even in the darkness, Lance was pretty positive that Keith was blushing. It was hard to miss when they were this close. “W-well, uh, we always slept together at your house. So, I dunno, I just thought--”

“No, that’s a good idea.” Lance interrupted. He reached out and touched Keith’s arm, startling him a little, but he quickly relaxed under his touch. Lance sat up properly, putting a bit of distance between them, and helped move Keith’s cot into place so they were pressed together. Once Keith got under the covers, Lance shifted over so he could throw an arm over Keith’s waist.

Keith deflated with that, practically melting into the mattress under Lance’s touch. Lance couldn’t help but smile at that, content that Keith was content.

“G’nite, bossman,” Lance murmured.

Keith pressed his nose into Lance’s hair, and whispered a similar sentiment.

* * *

When Lance woke up the next morning, he woke up alone with a tickle still lingering at the back of his throat. He groaned and threw the covers back, trying to dislodge the discomfort with a cough. It didn’t work, though. If anything, it flared up, and Lance groaned again. Keith’s side of the bed was still warm, so he hadn’t left that long ago.

Getting up and out of bed was a lot harder than it normally was, and Lance cursed lowly under his breath. This wasn’t what he needed on his first full day working with Keith. So he tried to ignore it as he got changed and left the tent.

Keith was sitting by the fire, cooking some breakfast for them over the flames. His eyes instantly snapped over to him as the tent flaps closed behind him, and he looked surprised to see Lance up. “Oh,” he said, looking startled, “you’re awake. I wasn’t going to wake you until breakfast was ready.”

“You didn’t have to,” Lance plopped down beside Keith, peering into the frying pan. Simple bacon and eggs. Bless. “You made me breakfast yesterday morning.”

“True,” Keith easily relented, pushing the bacon around in the pan, “but I enjoy doing this for you. Let me.”

Lance’s cheeks heated up at that. _God, was Keith actively trying to kill him?_ “Okay.”

“Okay,” Keith echoed, a hint of a smile tugging his lips up. “How’d you sleep?”

Lance opened his mouth to answer, but the tickle at the back of his throat suddenly spiked, and he just managed to cover his cough into his sleeve. Keith’s head snapped towards him, looking concerned, especially when one cough turned into half a dozen before he could smother them. “Hey, you okay?” Keith asked lowly, voice full of concern.

Lance waved him off, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Fine, man.”

“You sure? Because--”

“ _No_ , I don’t want Kosmo to take me home.” Lance was quick to say. “It’s only been a day, I’m not abandoning you. I feel fine.”

“You don’t _have_ to stay. We’ll manage fine here on our own--”

“No ‘but’s, man.”

Keith looked extremely skeptical, but kept his mouth shut.

“Promise,” Lance assured, trying to soothe any of Keith’s remaining worries, “I’m fine. It’s probably just space dust. I’m not used to this anymore.”

That earned him a snort.

“Seriously, If I start to feel off, you’ll be the first to know, okay?”

Keith still looked skeptical, but nodded after considering for a moment. “You better.”

* * *

With every step Lance took, he could feel breakfast rolling around in his gut, and he could almost feel how green he was. Every breath through his nose made his stomach churn even more, but he knew he was a loud mouth breather. He didn’t want to be a dick.

So he pulled the hood over his head and forced his lips up into a grimace. He didn’t need Keith to know he was feeling as rotten as he was. Not on their first real day of relief work. They needed him, and he needed to be here. _Wanted_ to be here.

But whatever this sickness was didn’t want him to be on this planet, in space, doing relief work. Or to do much of anything, really.

He managed to stop a sneeze before it could happen, but there was a tingle in his nose for a long while until the inevitable happened. Axca kept giving him funny looks, as if she could see right through him, but blessedly kept her mouth shut. 

The work they were doing wasn’t challenging, just simple setting up communications in a designated room for any contact they needed to reach out to the rest of the galaxy. But Lance’s sickness was inhibiting any ease of the mundane work for him. Any time he had to exert himself even the slightest bit, like walking across the room to adjust something, his lungs burned, chest heaved, and his head spun. It wasn’t ideal, _far_ from it, but he wanted to be here.

And he didn’t want to disappoint Keith. That would be the worst part. He’d trusted Lance enough to come along, and was relying on him to pull his weight. He had to.

“Hey,” Axca spoke up, “can you go fiddle with that wire until it connects?”

“Sure,” Lance replied, and cautiously made his way to where she pointed. But he stumbled over his own feet, and went careening onto some boxes.

Axca was instantly at his side, looming over him with concern. “Lance?! Lance, are you okay?”

He waved her off distractedly, other hand coming up to press between his eyebrows, relieving some of the pressure there. “‘M fine,” he mumbled. “Just stumbled a little.”

“You’ve looked off all day,” she argued, gently grabbing his elbow to help him sit upright. “Should I go get Keith?”

“No!” He exclaimed, perhaps a little too loudly. “No,” he repeated at a lower level, and tried to smother a cough, “don’t tell Keith. He’ll go all mother hen on me and won’t let--” the need to cough overcame him, and he just managed to direct it into his sleeve before practically coughing up a lung.

She looked extremely conflicted, wanting to listen to his words but also wanting to call Keith over. But after a moment she nodded, silently aquiesting to Lance’s request. He breathed out a sigh of relief, and slumped back against the box.

“You have to _promise_ me,” she said firmly, giving him a hard look, “that if you feel worse, you tell me.”

“Alright.”

“Now, don’t freak out,” she said quickly, “but I’m gonna have Keith send Kosmo over.”

Lance jerked upright, “ _What_?!”

Axca levelled him with a look. “I just _told_ you not to freak out. Having Kosmo around would make me feel better about all this. So it’s happening.”

He tried to level her with a look of his own, silently trying to dissuade her, but she quickly won out with how steely and determined she looked. _Damn her._ “Fine,” he relented, “but don’t give Keith any indications.”

  
“I won’t,” she assured, already pulling up communications with him.

Keith answered almost scarily fast. “What’s wrong?” He questioned worriedly.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Axca assured, though it sounded weak to Lance’s ears, “Lance and I were just saying that it’d just be nice having Kosmo around.”

“Oh… Kay?” Keith said quizzically. “Sure, he’ll be over in a tick.” He went to wave away the transmission but hesitated. “Hey, is Lance feeling okay?”

Axca glanced over at Lance with wide eyes. She didn’t want to lie to him, and Lance knew that, so he stepped over to her side and waved at the camera. “Keith, buddy! I’m fine,” he assured, “stop worrying so much, okay?”

“I always worry about you.” Keith instantly replied. But as soon as the words were out of his mouth, his cheeks flared up with red embarrassment. “I-- uh, I mean--”

“I know what you mean,” Lance was quick to interrupt, to save them both from further embarrassment, “thanks for worrying about me.”

Suddenly, a zap sounded from behind them, and Lance whirled around to see Kosmo. He smiled at the wolf and offered his hand out for scritches. “Okay, he’s here,” he heard Axca say.

“Alright, let me know if you need anything else.” Keith said. “I mean it; _anything_.”

“Will do, bossman,” Lance called out over his shoulder, shooting Keith one of his signature finger guns.

Keith rolled his eyes fondly with a small smirk before ending the call.

Axca whirled around to face him and pointed a threatening finger at him. “If something happens to you, Keith _will_ have my head. I don’t care how _pretty_ and _adorable_ or _whatever_ else that boy says about you, I’ll kill you if he kills me.”

Lance’s head practically spun at that. _Pretty? Adorable?_ _What??_ “Huh?”

“Nevermind,” Axca was quick to say, and turn to head over to adjust the wire that started all of this. “Let’s just finish this.”

* * *

Lance’s head was starting to spin by the time they made it outside to help distribute fresh produce to the locals. Axca was keeping a close eye on him, and even Kosmo took notice, offering quiet occasional whines and sticking as close as he could to Lance’s side without tripping over each other.

He could appreciate their concern, but he was _fine._ He had to be.

“Here you go,” he heard himself say as he passed a small basket to a Giwosian child. He honestly wasn’t even sure what was in it. Now he’d just gotten to the point where he just had the muscle memory down without paying any real attention. Not that he _could;_ his head pounded anytime he moved even slightly, and his heartbeat was ringing in his ears. Realistically, he knew he shouldn’t be out here doing anything, but he didn’t want to leave the team high and dry. This was his first mission, his first real day of relief work.

Not a great start, all said and done.

“Excuse me, Mr. Blade sir?” A young child spoke up, startling Lance from his reverie. He whirled around and was met with the sight of a young child, barely coming up to his knee, twisting their little paws around nervously. “I just-- Your eyes are really pretty.”

Lance cooed, and took to a knee in front of the child so they could be a little closer to eye level. “My eyes?”

“Mhmm.”

“Well, I think yours are even prettier.” He said with a smile, letting his gaze dance back and forth between the child’s vibrant purple eyes. They were almost the exact same colour of Keith’s, but not quite as vibrant. Lance could admit that he was a little biased, though; he’d spent _a lot_ of time looking into Keith’s eyes in all the time he’s known him.

The child giggled a little, and wiggled bashfully in place. “Thank you,” they mumbled.

“Did you know that purple is one of my favourite colours?” Lance asked softly.

“No! I thought it would be blue.”

“Oh?” Lance questioned, a little quicker than intended. It made his throat flare up in sudden pins and needles, and he covered a cough into his elbow. “Why blue?”

“Well,” the child’s head tilted to the side, as curious and cute as a puppy, “you piloted the blue lion, right?”

Lance’s eyes widened in shock. He had no idea anyone still recognized him as a Paladin of Voltron. It’d been _years._ “Uh, yeah, I did.” Lance replied dumbly. “I also piloted the red lion, after Keith took over the black one.”

The little Giwosian looked completely awestruck by that. “Really?!”

“Really,” Lance confirmed. He reached out and ruffled the fur on the top of their head, smiling when it earned him a giggle. “C’mon, let’s get you your rations, kiddo.”

He stood up, ready to do just that, but suddenly, black spots appeared at the edges of his vision, and his world tilted sideways. He saw a flash of blue sparks before the world went dark.

* * *

Keith was keeping tabs on Lance out of the corner of his eye while he worked, passing rations and medicine to those lined up in front of him. He watched Lance with a smile when he bent down to talk to a small child, warmth buzzing beneath his ribs.

Lance was so good with kids, with everybody, and it made Keith’s heart melt a little. Lance just had so much love to give, and expected absolutely nothing in return. It made Keith want to pull him to his chest and smother him with love and affection, kiss every inch of his beautiful face and tell him how much he loved him.

He was pulled from his thoughts when Kosmo suddenly appeared beside him in a flurry of sparks, with Lance in tow. But Lance was careening sideways, body lax as he teetered over sideways.

Keith was quick to jump into action, lunging over in time to gather Lance up and lower them to the ground. He adjusted him so his head lolled into his own neck, and looped an arm solidly around his chest to keep him in place. “Lance? Lance, baby, wake up.”

Lance was completely slack, out cold. Icy dread settled in his core, radiating out through his body as he took stock of Lance’s condition. He pulled his glove off with his teeth and pressed the back of his hand to Lance’s forehead, feeling if he was too warm or too cold.

His skin was practically boiling to the touch. Alarmingly so. Keith cursed under his breath, and whistled Kosmo over, reaching out so his wolf could zap them elsewhere.

He held on tight to Lance while they teleported, suddenly appearing back in their tent. He gave Kosmo a quick pat as thanks before gathering Lance up and standing, depositing him onto the bed as carefully as he could.

“Kosmo, go find help and bring them here,” he instructed, not even glancing over at his companion. When a _zap_ sounded off, he knew the wolf left to do as he asked.

With that, he focused all of his attention on Lance. “What happened to ‘you’ll be the first to know’, huh?” Keith snarked softly under his breath. He breathed out a defeated sigh with a shake of his head. “Oh, Lance, always worrying me.” As he methodically stripped Lance out of his Marmora gear, preparing to get him into something more comfortable, he mentally ran through anything that could have caused this. With how clammy his skin felt, all Keith could do was worry, especially with the coughing and general sense of unwellness that Lance had been displaying all day.

He’d let him go, to carry out his list of tasks for the day, even though he _knew_ something was wrong. Stupid, stupid, _stupid--_

His wolf suddenly reappeared, nosing into his side to get his attention. Keith’s hand automatically dropped down to his head, giving him a pat. But when he finally looked down, he realized they weren’t alone; it appeared Kosmo had someone in tow.

“Huh…? Wh--What? Where am I?” The native Giwosian questioned, looking around confusedly at their surroundings.

Keith stepped back from the bed, gesturing towards Lance. “My Lan-- I mean, my friend here is sick. He’s come down suddenly with something and I’m not sure what to do.”

The Giwosian pursed its lips, and stood up on its tiptoes to see Lance’s still form. Upon seeing the state the former paladin was in, its lips twisted down into a frown. “Oh,” they whispered under their breath.

“‘Oh’?” Keith questioned, bending at the hip to be closer to eye level with the being. “What does that mean?”

“I wonder…” The alien mused softly, and stepped closer to the bed, peering over at Lance on its tiptoes. Keith took pity, and grabbed something for the small alien to stand on. With mumbled thanks, the Giwosian hopped up on the box and leaned over Lance, analyzing him quietly.

Keith fought the urge to drum his fingers or tap his foot, or worse, ask them to hurry up already. He was impatient, and desperately curious to know what was wrong with Lance so they could hurry up and help him, but he didn’t want to be rude.

He did wish the alien would hurry up a little, though.

“Did he eat any food hailing from our planet?” The alien spoke up suddenly, not looking away from Lance’s body.

“He did, yeah, last night. The fruit that Galra noses can’t stand.”

The alien’s shoulders slumped at that, dread weighing them down. They turned to face Keith again, but his stomach sunk when he saw their expression. “That’s not good,” they said lowly, and wrung their hands together nervously. “We had a recall for the Siph fruit a few days ago. Our only remaining farm growing it fell to the sickness, so we destroyed the remaining fruit.”

Keith’s stomach tried to drop through his feet, making him feel like he was on the worst kind of roller coaster. “I… We had no idea, or we would’ve--”

“I don’t think anyone knew that you had local produce,” the alien cut in, looking pensive. “You’re here to help _us,_ so I don’t think anyone ever thought that you and your team would need any help. I apologize, that was careless of us. Now, one of your own is suffering.”

Keith didn’t know what to say to that. Normally, he’d be the first to assure others that it was fine, a mistake, not done maliciously and that things would work out in the end. But this time was different. This was _Lance_ they were talking about. Lance, who’d taken his first steps out of his comfort zone to follow Keith to another alien planet. Lance, who’d barely been here for a _day_ before something bad happened to him. Why did it have to be _Lance_?

Keith desperately wished he could take all of Lance’s pain and sickness upon himself, bear it for him so he never had to suffer… But he couldn’t. All he could do was stand there helplessly and watch as Lance laid still, sweat accumulating on his brow despite his shivers. It made his heart clench painfully every time he saw the furrow in Lance’s brow, how tightly his eyes were pinched shut. Dread squeezed his core tight with each of Lance’s breaths, squeezing and tightening with each rasp.

He felt _horrible._ Sick to his stomach.

But, they had to keep the bus moving. He had to figure out what the next steps were to help Lance. “So… What’s the plan of action?” Keith asked, trying to swallow past his dry throat.

The Giwosian hummed. “Well, this is still the first twenty-four hours since he’s eaten it, so the few days are critical. If he wakes, that is a good sign. But, if he’s delusional and can’t seem to move the way he tries to, then he won’t be in the clear yet.”

Keith tried to swallow past the lump in his throat, and nodded for the alien to continue.

“When and _if_ he wakes up, we need to get some fluids into him. I’ll send over an herbal concoction for him to sip at when he can, and another more potent dose for you to bathe his forehead and chest in.”

“Okay, can do.” Keith nodded. He offered a hand to the native, helping them down from the box. “Thank you,” he said sincerely.

“No, thank you for helping us recover from our strife.” They replied, offering a jerky bow. “We’re grateful to you and your team, and this is the least we can do.” With that, he turned and started towards the tent’s flap. “I’ll send over what you need as soon as it’s ready.”

With that, they left. But, just as soon as the tent flap closed behind them, Axca stepped inside, breathing a little heavier than normal, as if she’d sprinted here. “Is Lance okay?”

“No,” Keith snapped, gesturing down to Lance’s sickened form, “he’s _not_ okay, can’t you see that?”

She recoiled a bit, looking shocked to be snapped at so vehemently, but quickly schooled her expression into something neutral. “Sorry, boss.”

Keith cursed under his breath, and ran a shaky hand down his face. “No, I’m sorry. That was too far. I’m sorry for snapping, I just--”

“He means the world to you,” Axca interrupted, fully stepping into the tent. “We all know this. Even he seems to know, at least a little.”

Keith winced, and tried to hide behind his hands. “Oh god.”

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” she patted his shoulder in an attempt to be soothing, “he does seem to balance you out.”

“Alright, alright,” he said quickly, trying to move her past the subject. He went back to stripping Lance out of the Marmora gear, wanting him to be comfortable. “I’m waiting on a native doctor to send over something to help bring Lance out of this. Hopefully it’ll work.”

“Hopefully,” she nodded.

“I’m seriously reconsidering ever letting him come here in the first place.” He admitted lowly.

“You wouldn’t’ve been able to stop him,” Axca said gently, and gathered up Lance’s gear in her arms, “you know how stubborn and determined he is, especially where you’re concerned.”

His cheeks reddened again, and he seriously feared that they’d stain permanently red at this point. Who needed to tan when blushing was more consistent? “What’s _that_ supposed to mean?” He asked dryly, pulling the covers out from under Lance’s still form to cover him up to just below his chin.

She floundered around for a moment, trying to come up with an answer. “I just-- You-- It seems that, well, whenever Lance is around, you seem happier. That’s all.” She slowly started backing out from the tent, Lance’s gear still in her arms. When she noticed, she let it drop to the ground before hastily making her escape.

Keith scoffed softly under his breath. He wasn’t surprised that she fled, just exasperated that she’d drop Lance’s-- well, _his_ \-- gear on the ground.

He took his time folding it up neatly and leaving it at the foot of the bed, keeping an eye on Lance all the while. Despite being burrowed under the covers on the bed, he was still visibly shivering, and Keith’s heart broke at the sight. He had no idea what would happen, or how to help him. Not really. Not until Lance woke up.

So he curled up in bed beside him, laying on his side so he could keep an eye on him, and waited.

* * *

What seemed like an age later, the same Giwosian from before peeked into the tent, bearing the concoction they promised. They took the time to show Keith how to use it, and how much he should let Lance drink at a time of the less potent solution if he woke up.

With how they kept emphasizing _if he woke up,_ Keith’s anxiety was starting to spike in his chest, making him feel like nothing could go right. If Lance never woke up, he had no idea what he’d do. How could he tell their chosen family, their Voltron team? Lance’s family? His niece and nephew? His _parents_? They’d come to love him, treating him like a son… He’d never be able to show his face there again.

Not that he’d ever want to show face, to _anyone,_ ever again. If this mission cost Lance his life… He didn’t know what he’d do.

What _could_ he do?

He’d never be able to forgive himself. He’d never _want_ to forgive himself. If anything happened to him… 

The very thought of losing Lance nearly brought him to his knees, tears springing to his eyes. That wasn’t something he even wanted to think about. He’d never survive having to go through that.

And he hoped he never would.

But things seemed pretty bleak right now.

As he sat on the edge of the bed and watched Lance breathe slowly in and out, he took comfort in the fact that his chest rose and fell on its own accord. That each breath rattled in and out of his chest, but he was still breathing. That his cheeks were still flushed red, feverish but alive.

_Alive._

He had to take comfort in something. If not for Lance’s words, then his presence.

For now, it would have to do.

* * *

Lance awoke to a throat drier than a desert and a splitting headache. He groaned and wished he could be unconscious again. His eyelids felt heavy, and his muscles strained under the weight of his body. It was a lot, almost too much, but he had to make do.

There was something damp pressed to his forehead, and another heavy presence on his chest. He blindly tried to push them away, but his arms were heavier than he remembered.

What happened?

He turned his head in an attempt to dislodge the _thing_ pressed to his head, but it was stuck there. He groaned out his displeasure, but winced when a sharp jab responded behind his eyes.

His own voice made his head pound. Great.

“Lance? Lance, can you hear me?”

That voice rattled around in his skull until he pressed his face deeper into the pillow, trying to smother the sound. “Stop yellin’,” he mumbled grouchily.

The mattress beside him shifted as someone moved closer, and a hand came up to remove the pressure against his forehead. But, another _different_ weight settled in its place, feeling the temperature there. Lance batted the hand away with a grunt.

The hand came back, more insistently this time, lingering long enough to feel whatever it was feeling for. “Oh, honey,” the owner of the hand cooed. Lance finally realized it was Keith beside him, talking to him in a quiet voice so it didn’t hurt his head too much, “you’re burning up… How are you feeling?”

Lance opened his mouth to talk, but his throat flared up in agony, and he swiftly closed it again. He tried to blink open his tired eyes instead, but they felt like they were weighed down with heavy anvils. With a groan, he reached a hand up to help pry one of his eyes open to get a look up at Keith.

He looked _horrible,_ for lack of a better word. His hair was falling out of his ponytail, and his lips were bitten raw from worrying over them so much. The clothes he was wearing were rinkled to hell, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

Lance couldn’t help but wonder how long he’d been out for.

“Been better,” Lance ground out. He cringed when he heard his voice, throat sounding horribly hoarse. In all honesty, he felt like he’d been hit by a truck. Maybe a couple. All at the same time. But he knew that wasn’t the case, even if his body made a compelling argument for that answer.

“What hurts?” Keith asked. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

"Everything hurts." Lance relaxed back into the cot, letting his hand fall across his stomach as he closed his eyes again. "My body feels like its been through one of Shiro's insane exercise routines, but worse." He coughed, his throat flaring up as the air rushed through it. "And my throat feels like it’s on fire."

Keith looked away, face twisting in concern, before remembering the medicine he had to give to Lance. "Here, I have something that'll help." He leaned over to grab the bottle to pour the correct amount, handing it to Lance. 

Lance eyed the weird looking liquid, not moving to sit up and take it.

"One of the doctors here said it will help.” Keith explained softly. He pushed the cup closer to Lance, silently begging him to take it. “They feel awful for what's happened." 

Lance just closed his eyes, his face pinching with disgust. "It looks gross.” He grouched. “I don't want it."

Keith moved forward and grabbed Lance's shoulder with his free hand, startling Lance into opening his eyes and looking up at Keith. "Lance, _please_.” Keith begged, not even caring that he sounded desperate. He’d be however desperate he needed to be to get Lance to drink this and feel better. “You have to take it. The virus you have could kill you if you don't!” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he winced, looking away like he’d said too much.

“What?” Lance asked incredulously.

A long sigh blew out from between Keith’s lips, and it took awhile for him to look up and meet Lance’s gaze again. When their eyes finally met, Lance was absolutely shocked to see tears in Keith’s violet eyes. “They weren't even sure you were going to wake up." Keith said slowly, trying in vain to keep his voice even and controlled. But Lance heard the waver, heard the fear and uncertainty there. It struck him to his core, and he felt terrible for making Keith feel this way. “And I… I’ve spent the last week wondering what I’d do if you didn’t.”

Lance hated himself for putting Keith through that, but he didn’t know. He didn’t exactly plan for something like this to happen. He thought it’d just been a simple cold, but apparently not. He’d managed to get himself sick from the same epidemic they were on this planet to help eradicate. Figures.

He forced himself to wet his parched throat with a swallow, wincing when it was more painful than it should have been. Then, he grimaced as he tried to push himself into a sitting position, or at least high enough to drink the medicine without choking on it. 

Keith saw Lance shifting and helped pull him up and supported him as he took the cup to drink from. "Thank you." He said softly as Lance drank. He didn’t say anything as Lance tried to drown it like a shot, getting it done and over with, then helped him back down into a comfortable lying position. "You should get some more rest."

Lance just nodded, closing his eyes. He was too tired to argue and his mind was racing with the image of seeing Keith's eyes glistening with unshed tears. Why would Keith cry for him? It made his heart swell with a comfortable warmth. Keith truly cared for him. He was scared to lose Lance, like he had been to lose Allura. 

A small smile graced his lips at the thought. His mind slowly drifted off into the land of dreams with fond fuzzy feelings of his partner at the forefront. "Thanks, Keith." He murmured before closing his eyes and settling back to sleep.

Keith frowned, confused. Why was Lance thanking him? He hadn't done anything to deserve it. It was _his_ fault that he was sick in the first place.

He sighed, and shifted to grab the cloth and gather some new herbs the doctor had left them. Once they were rolled up in the fabric and dipped in cool water, he took care to spread it evenly over Lance’s forehead, brushing his beautiful brown hair out of the way.

Despite everything, his fingers still lingered in his hair, more soothing to him than Lance at this time. "I'm sorry." He whispered, letting his fingers trail down the side of Lance’s face, over the strong line of his jaw. "I wish you hadn't come on this mission. I hate seeing you in pain like this when there's nothing I can do to help."

Keith’s hand brushed down Lance’s body, scarcely touching him until he came to where Lance’s hand lingered on top of the covers. Without a moment’s hesitation, he gingerly gathered the hand up between his own, cradling it like it was the most precious thing. Which, to him, it was. All of Lance was precious, from the longest hair on his head down to his pinky toes. And he desperately wanted to protect him, do whatever was necessary to do so.

But, he had to admit the truth. "To be honest though, I've really enjoyed having you here." He spoke softly, trying not to disturb Lance from his slumber. But despite that, his feelings needed an outlet, even if the source of his feelings couldn’t respond. "I miss you… You have _no idea_ how much I miss you when I go away. I miss you every minute of every day. Every single day is a countdown to when I get to see you again."

He smiled at the thought of rushing back to Lance's farm after every mission. How Lance’s face lit up every time they finally saw each other again. Even just thinking about it made his heart flutter. "Lance, you are the light in my life. You have been for as long as I can remember. No matter how lost I get, you have been there to guide me back, and you have no idea how much that means to me.

"I need you, Lance.” His eyes slipped closed and his grip on Lance’s hand tightened. “I need you more than you could possibly know. Not just as my friend, my _best_ friend, but as something more. I know you will probably never feel the same way, but, I love you. I love you so damn much.

“So, you have to get better.” Keith forced his eyes open so he could stare firmly down at the love of his life. “Get better so we can go home together. So we can go back to your little flat on the family farm and sit on your porch swing. So I can tuck you into bed at night and make sure no nightmares come to you. Let you sleep in and do the chores for you, and surprise you with breakfast in bed. I want to do this for you, every day for the rest of our lives. I will do anything you want, _be_ anything you want, just… _Please_ … Please get better soon. Come back to me." Keith's voice cracked as tears began to stream down his cheeks. 

This time, he didn’t have to hold them back.

* * *

A few days later, Lance woke to the feeling that someone was staring at him. Slowly, he lifted his hands to rub the sleep out of his eyes. It felt like he has been asleep for a long time, if the heaviness of his eyes and body were anything to go by. His mind was still groggy from dreams, so he wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep. 

He opened his eyes to see a nose attached to a face inches from his own. " _What the--_?!" He shrieked, jumping back with a start with wide eyes. 

Kosmo woofed, his tail wagging happily as he kept an eye on Lance.

"What's going on?" Keith came rushing in. His eyes widened in shock when he realized what he was seeing. " **Lance**!" He yelled, upon noticing Lance awake and out of bed. He rushed over to him. "How are you feeling?"

Lance raised a hand to his chest to calm his heart rate. "Fine." He raised an eyebrow at Kosmo. "Could have done without the rude awakening though." 

Keith looked over at Kosmo and gave Lance an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I asked him to watch over you while I gave the team some orders for the day." 

Lance moved to sit back down on the edge of his cot, with Keith following suit. "What happened? It feels like I've been asleep for a year."

Keith frowned and looked away guilty. "You got sick from the fruit you ate. You've been in and out of consciousness for about a week now." He clenched his fists tightly in his lap. "It's been pretty touch and go. The doctors weren't even sure you were gonna make it."

Lance pouted. He hated when Keith blamed himself for things out of his control. He slung an arm around Keith's shoulders, hoping to soothe him, at least a little. "Come on man, lighten up." 

Keith looked up, surprised, a slight blush covering his cheeks. 

Lance smiled. "I'm feeling much better, so stop beating yourself up. We still have a mission to complete!" 

Keith looked back down to the ground and smiled softly. "You are staying here to rest for the remainder of the day. The others can handle it." 

Lance pouted again. "Oh, come on! I've been asleep for _days,_ apparently, so let me help do something." He whined.

Keith chucked, moving to stand up. He turned to face Lance, offering him a hand to pull him up. "Alright, but only light duties around camp. I'm keeping a close eye on you."

Lance raised an eyebrow before taking Keith's hand, being pulled to stand up. "I suppose that's better than bed rest. Alrighty then! Let's get started!" He raised his hand, pumping it in the air excitedly. 

Keith laughed as he removed his hand from Lance's grip and began to walk out of the tent. 

Lance stopped for a moment, relishing in the memory of the warmth of Keith's hand in his own. They’d held hands several times, but there was something more recent he felt he was forgetting. The remnants of his unconsciousness were clouding his memories. 

Not sure what to make of it, he shook his head he followed Keith out. The sun's rays instantly blinded him after being in the dark for so long. Blinking to get used to the new light, he looked blearily around the campsite. Not many people were around so he assumed most of them were off helping the natives. He noticed Acxa to his left, piling up some boxes and walked over to her. 

“Hey Axca.” 

“Lance?” Acxa spun around, dropping the box she was holding in her surprise.

“Whoa.” Lance’s quick reflexes kicked in and he grabbed the box before it fell to the ground, and handed it back to her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” He apologized.

Acxa sighed in relief, placing the box down. “I see you’re all better,” she said, eyeing him with a frown.

Lance scratched the back of his head and chuckled nervously. “Ahh, yeah. Sorry about that.”

Acxa crossed her arms across her chest. “I told you to not push yourself so hard. Do you even know how much trouble I got in for not telling him you weren’t well? He didn’t talk to me for _days,_ and that’s not even the worst of it.”

Lance frowned in concern. “What do you mean?”

“You really have no idea what you put him through this week, do you?” Acxa sighed and let her arms fall to her side as she glanced over at Keith, who was talking to one of the other Blade members. “He’s barely slept or ate. We were lucky if we saw him once a day. He was afraid something would happen to you if he wasn’t there.”

Lance’s eyes widened as guilt crept inside his chest. He knew Keith had been upset but he hadn’t realised to what extent. A memory of unshed tears rimming purple eyes suddenly filled his mind, and his heart clenched. He looked over at Keith, eyeing the tense line of his shoulders and frowned. “I’ll make it up to him,” he promised lowly, turning back to Axca. “And to you. Thank you for looking out for him. I was worried that he didn’t have anyone keeping an eye on him while he was on these missions, but I see that's not the case.” He smiled warmly, moving in to wrap his arms around her in a hug.

“Oh… Um, yeah…” Axca stuttered, taken back by the sudden hug. “No problem, I guess? He’s done a lot for us, so it’s the least we can do.”

Lance released her. “Well, I guess I should go find something to do. I’ll see you later.” He gave her a wave and walked off. 

* * *

A few hours later Lance was cooking some food for the team over the fire when Ezor and Zethrid came up behind him.

“Lancey Lance! You’re awake!” Ezor yelled, practically tackling him in a hug. “You had us worried! Keith said you almost died.”

Lance gave them a small smile. “Yeah… Sorry about that. Who knew a fruit could be so deadly?”

“We did.” Zethrid replied, scrunching her nose in disgust at the mere thought of the putrid fruit. “We told you it was disgusting.”

Lance chuckled. “Lesson learned, I guess.” He pulled out of Ezor’s grip to look at them head on. “Can I ask you guys something?” 

Ezor cocked her head to the side. “What’s up?”

Lance paused for a moment, trying to think of the best way to ask what he wanted to know. But, he quickly decided it was best to be blunt with these two. “Um… Does Keith talk about me when he goes on missions?”

Zethrid burst out laughing, startling Lance who looked up in confusion before looking over to Ezor for an explanation.

Ezor was trying her best not to laugh, hiding her smile behind her hand and shaking her head. “Only all the time!”

Lance pouted, even more confused. “What does he say?”

Zethrid took a deep breath to try and calm herself before answering. “I think the better question is what _doesn’t_ he say. The guy never shuts up about you.”

“He’s always talking about how much he misses you and how he’s excited to go visit after the end of a mission.” Ezor added. “I think one of his favourite things to do on a mission is to find a souvenir to take back to you. He says it’s to remind you that you’re not alone or something.”

“If you ask me, I think it’s because he’s afraid you’ll forget him or move on without him.” Zethrid replied, her voice turning serious. “I’ve never seen him care about anyone like he does for you, so you better not go doing anything stupid like you did with the fruit. I don’t think he could take it.”

Lance looked in awe as he listened to them talk about Keith, his heart pounding in his chest. He placed his hand over the beat beneath his breast and smiled. “Thanks, guys.” He said sincerely. “I promise I won’t do anything to endanger myself again.” He glanced over at Keith just in time to see him making his way over to them and gave him a big smile.

Keith smiled back, but it was different to the smiles he had been giving everyone else. This one was soft and gentle and filled with love, _so much love._ Lance faltered for a moment, shocked he had never noticed the difference before. He quickly recovered and walked over to Keith as the others went to get ready for dinner. 

“Hey.” Lance said simply.

“Hey. How are you feeling?” Keith replied, raising his hand to Lance’s forehead to check his temperature. 

Lance closed his eyes at the touch and leaned in slightly to the familiar feeling. ... _I love you..._ The words filtered through his memory bringing a calming warmth through his body. He smiled as he opened his eyes again. “I’m good.” 

He took Keith’s hands in his own before he continued. “I wanted to say thank you. I realised I didn’t say it earlier, so, thank you for looking after me while I was out. I’m sorry that I caused you so much trouble.”

Keith smiled, giving Lance’s hands a small squeeze. “It’s all good. You would have done the same. I’m just happy you’re alright now. You really gave me-- I mean _us_ a scare.” 

Lance ducked his head down in guilt. “Sorry. I uh--”

Keith pressed a finger to his lips to quiet him. “No more apologies. It’s done now. Let’s move on, okay?”

A small blush covered Lance’s cheeks as he nodded. 

“Great. Now, let’s go eat, cuz I am _starving_.” Keith replied, pulling Lance towards the food. 

Lance didn’t budge, making Keith stop and turn back to look at him questioningly. “Did you wanna hang out later, just the two of us? Maybe we could watch the stars or something?”

Keith looked surprised for a moment before smiling widely at him. “Sure. There’s a cliff nearby that we can go camp out on if you like?”

Lance smiled back and nodded. “Sounds good.” Then, just to spoil the mood, his tummy rumbled loudly. 

Keith chuckled. “Alright, food first. Come on.” He turned back and walked towards the campsite with Lance following him, their hands still joined. 

* * *

They didn’t get an opportunity to themselves until before breakfast the next morning. While Lance slept, the Blade wrapped up a good portion of their relief work, distributing supplies and burning the top layer of soil so the next crop wouldn’t be infected. Lance felt bad about missing most of it, but Keith had assured him that he was instrumental in the early work they did. He felt like Keith was just trying to make him feel better, but it worked.

They were going home tomorrow. Lance felt conflicted about leaving, going home, but he knew that there would be other missions, more opportunities to come with Keith. But he knew that soon, he would have to tell him. Tell him how he felt.

  


That night, they spent most of the night talking until they fell asleep. Lance had wanted to drag Keith out to the cliff sooner, but his head kept thinking ‘what if’? What if Keith didn’t feel the same way? What if what Lance said ruined their relationship, their friendship, beyond repair? What if…? But the longer they talked, the more sure Lance felt.

He had to tell him. Tell him that he was falling in love with him.

They woke up bright and early, before the sun had even touched the horizon. But they were both awake, so they decided to get up and head for the cliff Keith mentioned before. Every step towards the edge made Lance’s heart race from the knowledge of what he was going to say. It wasn’t that he was _nervous,_ exactly, although he was, but… Eager. Excited.

In love.

Once they were in and settled, Lance looked over across the mountainous range below. He could see the dim light of sunrise starting to break through the horizon, painting the sky in vibrant reds and oranges. “Hey Keith?” He spoke softly, breaking the silence that had fallen between them.

Keith turned to look at him. “What’s up?”

Lance took a deep breath, steeling himself before asking, “You love me, don’t you?” He focused on a tree in the distance so he didn’t have to look right at Keith to see his reaction.

Without even looking directly at Keith, he could see how quickly his cheeks flushed, practically glowing. “I… uh…” He floundered a little, surprised to be asked point-blank. But after a moment, he sighed, and closed his eyes tightly before admitting the truth. “But I don’t expect anything from you,” He was quick to add, wanting Lance to be nothing but comfortable around him.

Lance smiled, honestly touched by his concern. He knew Keith would never do anything to make him uncomfortable, but hearing it still made his chest flutter pleasantly. “It’s okay,” he assured, and leaned back, resting on his hands. “I figured it out myself during this mission. I feel like I should have seen it sooner, though. You’re not very subtle about it.” He chuckled easily.

Keith ducked his head in embarrassment and turned back to face the horizon. 

“To be honest, I’ve been struggling a lot with my feelings recently.” Lance continued, frowning to himself. “I found myself thinking about you in the same way that I thought of Allura.” He saw Keith’s breath hitch in the corner of his eye, but ignored it. “And I couldn’t help but feel like I was projecting my feelings for her onto you as a way to cope with the loss.” 

Keith nodded his head solemnly as he listened, trying not to feel disappointed as he released the breath he had been holding in. He knew that Lance wouldn’t return his feelings, but… He had been hopeful.

Lance sat back up and looked back over to Keith, carefully watching his face as he said, “The other week, when I said I was feeling restless… I finally figured out what it was I was missing.” 

He watched as Keith’s head turned over to him, curiosity shining bright in the dim light of the sunset. His eyes looked even more vibrant in the fading light, and he was so damn pretty that Lance almost didn’t know how to breathe. Except he did. Seeing how _beautiful_ and handsome Keith was, looking at him with that curious look rendered him absolutely helpless, and he welcomed it. He welcomed everything that came with Keith, gladly.

“Coming on this mission with you made me realise that those feelings I have are real.” He explained sincerely. “They aren’t just some projection. They feel different from what I felt for Allura… Maybe even deeper.”

Keith looked absolutely speechless at that, but he managed to breathe out a quiet “What?”

“The truth is,” Lance began, giving him a small smile, “I think I’ve liked you for a long time, but I didn’t want to admit it to myself. So, I created the rivalry to cover it up.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle to himself at his own foolish behaviour. His nails dug into his palms as he clenched his fists in his lap and frowned to himself. What he was thinking…? He was about to ask something he wasn’t sure he’d be willing to do if their positions were reversed. “I don’t think I’m ready to jump straight into a full relationship right now,” he began.

“That’s okay,” Keith was quick to say.

“Let me finish,” Lance softly begged, needing to say this. Keith had to know. “I don’t know if I’m ready to jump right into a full-fledged relationship right now. Honestly, I haven’t had much time to think, with, y’know, basically being in a coma and all.” That made Keith laugh a little, which made Lance feel a little better about what he was about to ask. “This is probably really selfish of me to ask, but… Will you wait for me?”

Keith turned to face Lance directly, face open but unreadable to Lance. “Hey, look at me.” He raised his hand to Lance’s cheek to pull his face towards him so he could look him directly in the eyes. “I will wait for however long you need.” He confidently declared. “We don’t have to rush or start anything until you are ready.” 

Lance’s eyes welled up with tears as Keith spoke. This boy was so good, _too_ good. He reached up to clutch at Keith’s hand covering his cheek, not to pull it away, but to ground him a little. His other hand reached out blindly to mingle with Keith’s where it laid between them, gripping it tight, seeking his support. He always needed Keith.

The bright light from the sun broke through the horizon and bathed them in a warm glow. “I will always be here for you, you know that, right?” Keith continued softly, giving Lance a reassuring smile. “No matter what. I’d cross entire galaxies just to see your smile, Lance. You have no idea what I’d do for you if you only asked.” His eyes widened and he fidgeted a little, glancing away when he realized how much he’d said. “I, just, uh… Yeah. Only when you’re ready.”

Lance nodded, and gently squeezed Keith’s hands. “I think I’m ready now…?” He whispered, looking between both of Keith’s violet eyes for any trace of hesitation. 

Keith’s breath caught in his throat, and he looked absolutely stunned by Lance’s quiet confession. His eyes quickly darted down to Lance’s lips, tongue dipping out to wet his own.

Lance couldn’t help but be drawn towards the sight of Keith’s tongue peeking out between his lips like a dying man to water, and unconsciously leaned in to get his own taste. But as soon as he realized he straightened up again and tore his gaze from those distracting lips.

The way Keith was looking at him, with unwavering adoration shining bright in his eyes… It made Lance’s stomach flutter with unrestricted butterflies that threatened to spread to the rest of his being.

For a moment, it seemed like their hearts connected, both wanting the same thing as they leaned towards each other at the same time. Time seemed to slow down and speed up at the same time, until their lips met in a gentle kiss and everything fell into place. 

It wasn’t much of a first kiss, nothing spectacular in the talent or skills department. Their lips simply slotted together, firm yet yielding to the others’. But what made their first kiss so spectacular was the way their chests practically burst at the seams with feelings. Every aspect of their relationship led up to this moment in time, where they finally came together with their first kiss. The kiss that meant everything to them. Years in the making, and just as special and perfect as they hoped it to be.

Their first kiss, though simple, was everything and more than they dreamed it would be.

When they finally parted they didn’t go far, only separating enough to press their foreheads together. Neither of them could help but giggle quietly to release the bursts of energy in their chests.

It was perfect. It was _them._

Lance couldn’t keep the smile from his face if he tried, and Keith seemed to have the same problem. After a moment, he leaned away, fighting the urge to swoop back in when Keith automatically leaned forwards. To satisfy his urge at least a little, he leaned forward and brushed their noses together, reveling in the closeness. “Let’s go home.” He whispered, grabbing Keith’s hands to pull them to their feet.

“Home,” Keith smiled fondly, and twined their fingers together. He flashed Lance a blinding smile, before leaning over and pressing a swift kiss to his cheek. “Lets.”

The sun shone brightly in the morning sky as Keith and Lance walked back to their pod hand in hand, ready to face the new day together. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope y'all liked this fic!!! If you did, please consider dropping kudos and/or a comment!
> 
> The art was done by the lovely Susan! [You can find it here!](https://forsakenangel88-art.tumblr.com/post/186348799760/here-is-my-full-piece-for-the) Go give it some love <3
> 
> And feel free to follow both Susan and I on other social medias! You can find Susan on her [fandom tumblr](https://forsakenangel88.tumblr.com/), her [art tumblr](https://forsakenangel88-art.tumblr.com/), and her [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/forsakenangel88/)! And you can find me on [tumblr](https://winter-and-little-brunettes.tumblr.com/), [twitter](https://twitter.com/winternbrunett5), and [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/winterandlittlebrunettes/)!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Heat of the Night](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20642921) by [Bang Bang Beef Keef (BangBangBeefKeef)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BangBangBeefKeef/pseuds/Bang%20Bang%20Beef%20Keef)




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